Serving Time(((Complete)))

Upgrade

She shifted into a White Tiger, and walked through, then shifted back. "You have to prove you're a shifter." She said.

I nodded and shifted, pressing through the barrier with some effort. I shifted back. "Thanks." I nodded.

She shrugged. "No one else was going to. Who are you? You're not wearing a clan Mark, I've never heard of you, and I can't see your Glyph..."

I pulled my jacket down, showing my shoulder and the 'Turn' Glyph. "I'm the first of my Clan. An Old One." I said, fixing my clothes.

Several people were now looking at me curiously. She raised a single thin eyebrow. "An Old One? Impossible."

I showed her the marks on my throat, and then my dagger, and shrugged. "That's the only proof I have. Tern said-"

She interrupted. "Tern? TERN the SNAKE?!?" She shouted excitedly.

"I... Don't know if that's his name, but he did have a snake familiar... He was the only shifter in the village down the mountain from my home, other than a son I never met." I said.

She nodded. "I'd heard he'd retired to the hinterlands... But confirmation... Ah, you don't understand. Tern the Snake was an amazing Shifter, capable of insane acts with his Familiar's. Everyone in the kingdom wants to learn from him. The fact that you have..."

"Oh come now, how can we trust this fool? He must've figured out how to beat the lie detectors." One boy said derisively.

"Lie detectors?" I asked her.

She smirked. "There's strong magic in this room. Any lie is silenced. For example. 'I do not want to be a purple platypus'." I had to read her lips for the last part, because the sound was whisked away.

"Interesting... Why would you want to be a purple platypus?" I asked.

She blushed. "They're adorable. Anywho. Let's move on, shall we? Heheheh... Heh." She was chuckling nervously now.

I smiled. "Okay. So Tern was famous, huh? Weird... Whatever. What's this class about?" I asked.

"This particular class is to teach people how to make Familiar's. I imagine Tern taught you already? Good." A tall woman spoke from behind me.

I turned. "Oh wow... Are you related to him? You have the same eyes... Emerald Green and Sky Blue... Hmm..." I hummed.

She blinked. "Well then, you really do know my grandfather. Hmph. Sit over there, if you already know his methods." She waved dismissively at the wall on the side.

I obediently sat to the side, and Pepe shifted fully, slipping behind me, letting me lean against his furred stomach.

I crossed my ankles, and narrowed my eyes, watching closely as the teacher began lecturing about the simple ritual to make a familiar. But she was being extremely complicated with it, adding steps and that confused me.

The tiger girl noticed, and grinned at me. "What, you don't know how to make-" she saw Pepe. "-... Oh. What, did Tern teach it different?" She asked quietly.

I nodded. "Very different. It's nowhere near that complicated..." I hummed.

The teacher snapped her gaze to me. "Is that so? Perhaps you'd like to teach the lesson?"